• Sanjose A Thomas
  Assistant Professor & Head,Department of Sociology,
  Sacred Heart College (Autonomous), Thevara, Sociologist & Researcher

Most of us are born with five senses, exceptional few with a sixth sense, but none is born with civic sense. Though we have the ability to speak, words and languages are taught to us by the adults. Similarly, civic sense too has to be taught and inculcated. Civic sense, a term often used interchangeably with citizenship, encompasses the values, attitudes, and behaviours that define our relationship with the community and the environment. It is the unwritten social contract that binds us together, fostering a sense of responsibility and mutual respect.

With the exception of a couple of lessons in school or at home, not much attention is given to the civic behaviour of the child. Faced with tough academic challenges and expectations to excel in exams, both teachers and parents are unable to devote much time to educate the children about the importance of civic sense and how it could make a difference to the country as well as contribute to the betterment of their own lives. While preparation for examinations is afforded priority, value formation, character building, and focusing on building ethical standards in children regrettably are not given adequate emphasis in our school curriculum. Robert Fulham wrote in his book titled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, “ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW’ about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday School.”

Civic sense is nothing but social ethics or the unspoken norms of society. It is not just about keeping the roads, streets and public property clean but also has to do with abiding by the law, respecting others point of view, and maintaining decorum in public places. Individualism, vandalism, intolerance, racism, road rage etc. are all examples of lack of civic sense. People are becoming less and less tolerant of each other, of other’s cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs and behaviour.

Civic sense, a term often used interchangeably with citizenship,
encompasses the values, attitudes, and behaviours
that define our relationship with the community and
the environment. It is the unwritten social contract that
binds us together, fostering a sense of responsibility
and mutual respect.

Disregard for the law is a primary cause for lacking civic sense. The current state of public transport, for example, is disheartening. There are spit marks, urine, vulgar graffiti, random garbage and overflowing sewers at every nook and corner. No one is to be blamed but ourselves for this condition. We put the waste or wrappers in the bin lying in the kitchen and teach our children to do so, but overlook when the child throws it on the road. Roads are not dirty because nobody cleaned it; they are strewn with garbage, because we threw the muck in the first place. As human beings, such dirt and grime is not acceptable to us, but it still exists around us, because we accuse everybody of it and want someone else to remove it. Dengue – a disease that has proven fatal for many and has spread across the country was caused by the absence of hygiene. The boundary wall of our colony is being used as open urinal. It used to stink so much that even the ‘safai karamchari’ used to avoid sweeping it. When requests failed, the residents of our society got pictures of God’s painted on all the boundary walls. From open urinal it soon became a sight of pleasure with cleanly swept sidewalks.

People today are so driven by their personal goals that civic sense as an ethical need has become a low priority, almost a nuisance to those who disregard it as an unnecessary evil. This attitude could be harmful for the society in the long run.

This situation was not always true; we were never as uncivil as we are today. Why this deterioration in civic sense? Self-containment could be the plausible reason. We do not bother about the needs of others. Civility is conspicuous by its absence. Right from the beginning, since man started living as socialized being, efforts have been made to instil civic sense either through stories or religion. All ancient civilizations had taken upon them the responsibility of maintaining moral values in society. There might have been different value systems, yet a common factor which brought them on the same platform was propagating moral teachings through storytelling. The Jataka tales were a major source for inculcating in people a deep sense of moral values and spread the message of kindness, compassion, generosity, non-violence, self-sacrifice, charity etc.

Valmiki, also known as adi kavi or first poet, exemplified the dos and don’ts of life in the Ramayana, a tale portraying Lord Rama as a model for virtue. Gandhi often compared democracy with ‘Ramrajya’, a society with no divide between the rich and the poor and where all religions are treated equally.

Civic virtues have historically been taught as a matter of chief concern. The constitutions of many nations became important in defining the public virtue of republics and monarchies too, though latter emphasized more on martial courage than civic virtue of honesty.

“Individualism, vandalism, intolerance, racism,
road rage etc. are all examples of lack of civic sense.
People are becoming less and less tolerant of each other,
of other’s cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs and behaviour.”

In the west, concern for civic virtue started with the oldest republics of Athens and Rome. Socrates and Plato were quite concerned about defining the virtues of civic sense; Aristotle viewed citizenship as consisting, not of political rights, but rather of political duties. Citizens were expected to put their private lives and interests aside and serve the country in accordance with duties defined by law. Parents, teachers and authors can do to a lot curb this downswing. By setting good examples to their children, parents can easily inculcate good habits in their children. Let the kids see you putting garbage in trash bins instead of throwing it on the street and they will follow suit. I recently read a news item that a school has decided to take a step towards inculcating civic sense in students and spreading the word through interactive programmes. The students are being sensitized to various civic issues through talks and activities. They are also being taught waste management in the city. They are being encouraged to collect the extra food from their own kitchens that is edible but untouched and would have been otherwise thrown out and giving to the needy and feeding the hungry.

All of us want our children to be successful, but not many make the effort to turn them into good human beings. We must teach our children to respect our planet and do his or her bit for nature. They are simple but essentials means which can encourage our children to save the planet, and we must remember to practice what we preach. If we do not teach our children about social issues, they may not be able to take an appropriate decision when confronted by them in society. For example, you need to teach your child about the ill effects of drugs and addiction, what sort of people smoke them and what effect it could have on his life. In fact, you need to inform them that their peers could introduce them to it at school! This knowledge will help them take an appropriate decision if ever confronted by this situation.

Good parenting could be a strong foundation from where each one of us could start building a national culture of civic sense and sensibility and making the future citizens of the country aware of the importance of social ethic or societal norms which should not just be followed but should become a way of life.  Societies with high human development and relatively less deviance owe a lot of credit to the right amount of civic behaviour among its people. While it is widely accepted that value formation is an essential pre-requisite in nation building, regrettably, adequate priority has not been given to this important aspect of ‘value formation’ while addressing issues relating to national development. With the degeneration of ethical values and the tragic deterioration of standards of our social, economic and political life, the need for a new model of values which will provide a basis and firm foundation for national development has emerged dominantly. Civic sense never evolves unless some deliberate attempts are made to that effect. Individuals, communities, and governments can foster civic sense through:

1. Education: Integrating civic education into school curricula.
2. Community Engagement: Organizing volunteer opportunities and public events.
3. Infrastructure Development: Providing accessible, well-maintained public spaces.
4. Leadership: Encouraging transparent & accountable governance.
5. Media Campaigns: Promoting civic values through media and social platforms.

There are many success stories across the world where nations could identify civic sense as a flagship idea like Sweden’s recycling revolution launched as an innovative waste management program, Singapore’s cleanliness drive initiated as a nationwide campaign for public hygiene, India’s Swach Bharat Abhiyan, which fostered local community-led sanitation initiatives, and Brazil’s participatory budgeting, which promoted citizen-led allocation of public funds, are praiseworthy initiatives. Some of these programs like the one launched by the government of Singapore and the Brazilian initiatives were grant successes with resounding attainments transforming the life of millions and instilling the culture of civility in citizenry.

Presently, a whole generation is in the danger of becoming trapped within a false value system chasing after a ‘materialistic world.’ Becoming rich fast and amassing wealth seem to be the ‘core’ of all things. In the pursuit of ‘material success’, ethics and values have been relegated to the list of forgotten things. Lust has overcome love; selfishness has superseded generosity, apathy has replaced sympathy, negative and destructive thought have replaced positive constructive thought.

“Faced with tough academic challenges and
expectations to excel in exams, both teachers and
parents are unable to devote much time
to educate the children about the importance of
civic sense and how it could make a difference
to the country as well as contribute
to the betterment of their own lives”

A few years back when Tsunami hit Japan and there was complete power failure in Japan, the world was shocked by the tragedy, but also marvelled at the conduct of the affected people. When the city was plunged in darkness, people left the shops, leaving the merchandize on counters. No one took advantage of the darkness. There was no looting or ransacking of stores. No wonder Tokyo is among the most affluent, progressive, safe and orderly cities in the world.

It is important to be open and receptive to the diverse world views of other fellow citizens. Over and above that, it is important to respect people for what they are. Developing such an attitude among children is only possible if sincere efforts are made to make civic sense and value education an essential part of the School’s curriculum and not just a subject that is either ignored or taught half-heartedly. Also, cultural events and extracurricular activities of the School can be developed around the ideas of promoting tolerance, understanding and peace.

Civic sense is the backbone of a thriving society. By embracing our collective responsibility, we can create a better world for ourselves and for future generations. Let us strive to cultivate civic sense in our daily lives and thereby inspire others to do the same.

Let’s follow a Five Point Plan to build Civic Sense, which are the 5 Mantras for well being

1. Take ownership of your community. Never transfer responsibility
2. Volunteer for local initiatives. ‘Go Green’ to ‘Go Litter less’ are few amongst them
3. Practice environmental stewardship. Always opt for sustainable alternatives.
4. Respect laws and institutions. Teach our posterity also to follow rules and not to break them
5. Educate yourself and others on civic values by showing good models. Leaders never preach, they practice

Together, we can build a society that values civic sense, fostering a brighter future for all.